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Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Hardware, iPod touch

3rd gen iPod touch teardown: 802.11n potential and room for a camera?

Just this morning, we linked to the results of iFixit's iPod nano teardown. Hours later, we have the opportunity to dive into their 32GB iPod touch teardown. There are definitely a few interesting tidbits about what Apple did and did not do with the iPod touch this time around... and possibly some hints of what could happen in the future.

Here are the highlights:
  • The ARM processor in the iPod touch is a newer revision than the iPhone 3GS's CPU. We still don't know its exact clock speed but it's a definite upgrade from the 2nd Generation iPod touch.
  • It has a 1080 mAh battery; what does that mean? Well, it'll get pretty good battery life. Apple's website lists it at 30 hours of music playback.
  • The NAND flash memory is manufactured by Samsung and has been split into two chips to achieve the 32GB capacity.
  • The wireless chip is from Broadcom. According to their documentation this chip supports 802.11 n as well as 802.11 a/b/g. This is a new move from Apple. Until now, all of the mobile devices have only had g-capable wireless chips. It's possible that this would be enabled in the future, but I wouldn't put money on that.
  • Mark this one as rumor fodder: iFixit claims that there is room for a camera at the top of the device. The empty space measures 6mm x 6mm x 3mm. That could easily fit the same style camera as the 5th gen iPod Nano, but they don't believe an iPhone-quality camera would fit because of the limited space.
If that's not enough iPod touch news for you, read on.

Continue reading3rd gen iPod touch teardown: 802.11n potential and room for a camera?

Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Hardware, iPod nano

iFixit tears apart the 5th Generation iPod nano...nicely

The pioneers at iFixit are at it again, this time exploring the Loop's newest, coolest gadget -- the iPod nano. According to their measurements, this iPod is as thin as it could possibly be, and more densely packed than any previous Apple device. I work on iPods at my day job, but I'm afraid to start working on this one because there is very little wasted space and LOTS of glue.

Here are some facts worth highlighting:
  • The iPod nano uses flash memory manufactured by Toshiba.
  • Apple would not be able to put a larger camera into it without reducing the footprint of other components.
  • It uses the same style speaker as the iPod touch. The sound exits through the dock connector.
  • The display has 17.5% more real estate than the 4th Generation iPod nano.
Read on for the nitty gritty, "I want to tear it apart" information...

Continue readingiFixit tears apart the 5th Generation iPod nano...nicely

Filed under: Macbook Pro

New MacBook Pro tear-down

It's only been about 12 hours since the new MacBook Pro's were released and already someone has posted a tear-down online. AnandTech has a full gallery of pictures showing the tear-down process. Interestingly enough, AnandTech's Anand Lal Shimpi reports that while the MacBook Pro's processor got an upgrade today, it offers "very little performance boost."

[via MacDailyNews]

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